ClickUp vs Microsoft OneNote
ClickUp and Microsoft OneNote are both note-taking & docs tools. ClickUp is aimed at small businesses and agencies, while Microsoft OneNote is aimed at freelancers and small businesses. Both have a free plan.
One app for tasks, docs, goals and chat
Free freeform digital notebook from Microsoft with ink and sync
| Pricing | Freemium · $12 | Free |
| Starting price | $12/mo | Not published |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Built for | Small businesses, Agencies | Freelancers, Small businesses, Enterprise |
| Platforms | web, ios, android, macos, windows | web, windows, macos, ios, android |
| Country | US · 2017 | US · 2003 |
| Rating | — | — |
Choose ClickUp if
Agencies and SMBs that want maximum functionality per seat and will invest in setup.
- Extremely feature-rich for the price
- Free plan is unusually generous
- Highly customizable hierarchy and fields
Look elsewhere if: Teams that want an opinionated, minimal tool (Linear, Basecamp) or enterprises needing predictable performance at scale.
Choose Microsoft OneNote if
Students, teachers and Microsoft 365 users who want a free, pen-friendly notebook that syncs across every device.
- Completely free on every major platform with no note limits
- Best-in-class pen experience for students and tablet users
- Freeform canvas suits mixed media better than linear note apps
Look elsewhere if: Knowledge workers who need databases, linked notes or plain-file ownership (Notion, Obsidian or Evernote suit them better).
ClickUp vs Microsoft OneNote pricing
ClickUp
- Free$060 MB storage, unlimited tasks and members, 500 AI credits per workspace
- Core$12/user/mo$9/user/mo billed yearly; unlimited storage, 1K AI credits per user
- Business$25/user/mo$17/user/mo billed yearly; 1K automations, Brain² trial
- EnterpriseCustomSAML SSO, HIPAA, data residency
- Max$120/user/mo$100/user/mo billed yearly; full Max AI engine, 10K pooled credits, white labeling
Microsoft OneNote
- OneNote$0Free with a Microsoft account; notebooks sync via 5 GB OneDrive
- Microsoft 365 Personal$9.99/mo$99.99/year; 1 TB OneDrive and Copilot in OneNote
- Microsoft 365 Family$12.99/mo$129.99/year; up to 6 people, 2 TB shared storage
ClickUp · Key features
- 15+ views including list, board, Gantt, calendar, mind map, workload
- Docs, whiteboards and chat inside the workspace
- Custom fields, statuses and templates per space or list
- Automations and ClickUp Brain AI for summaries and writing
- Time tracking, goals, dashboards and sprints
- Hierarchy: spaces, folders, lists, tasks, subtasks, checklists
Cons
- Complexity and clutter; onboarding takes effort
- Performance issues on large workspaces
- Frequent UI changes
Microsoft OneNote · Key features
- Freeform pages where text, images, ink and files can be placed anywhere
- Notebook, section and page hierarchy with color-coded tabs
- Pen and stylus inking with handwriting search and ink-to-text
- Text extraction from images and printouts inserted into notes
- Audio recording linked to notes and tags such as To Do and Important
- OneNote Web Clipper for saving web pages into a notebook
Cons
- Storage is capped by OneDrive, only 5 GB on free accounts
- No databases, Markdown or bidirectional links
- Weak export makes migrating to another app painful
ClickUp vs Microsoft OneNote: FAQ
Do ClickUp and Microsoft OneNote have a free plan?
Yes, both ClickUp and Microsoft OneNote have a free plan; paid plans add more usage and features.